DAY 92: DESIGNING MY FIRST CAT PENTHOUSE AND MEETING CAPTAIN ‘MAD’

Dec 15th

Bent-foot Benny drives Mr Cat up the wall

HOW TO SAVE A CAT FROM BENT-FOOT-BENNY

Today I helped this little cat who was hanging out – quite literally.

I noticed that he was stuck to the walls of the cat-pen eight feet up. I thought he was playing but an hour later he was still there. As a rock-climber I know that takes practice. Or a hell of a lot of fear.

Just hanging….

Turns out he is being bullied by a fella who has congenitally deformed feet – Bent Foot Benny. Weird shit.

Bent foot benny doesn’t take any shit

(it’s a strange thing but all the deformed animals here are the top dogs. Blackie the dog has paralysed back legs and controls the top floor by sliding around on his butt as if madly wiping his arse the whole time)

So I made him a little penthouse apartment out of an old bed that I stuck to the wall and suspended from the ceiling. I put him in there and he spent the next five hours preening himself, admiring the views and laughing at bent-foot-Benny.

With views over the rescue centre and only a stone’s throw from the sea this magnificent plastic basket could be yours for only 5 rupee. So stop hanging around and come and sample the high life. etc etc etc

I assume he can get down? No one told me how to design lifts.

uh-oh, here comes a flat mate..

Woah, check out the views…

Think that’s high…check out this little tower

MAD is a man who wants to save the world.

A young local indian man turned up at the centre today. He carried a guitar on his back and a smile on his face and wore an army cap. His name was Vishnu but he told me he preferred to be called ‘Mad’

‘That’s quite a name’ I said.

‘Imperfection is beauty. Madness is genius’ he told me with a sing-song voice ‘I am full of mad thinkings, and…I will save anything’ Then, at the top of his voice he called out ‘WE ARE ALL ANIMALS!’

Indeed.

The dogs started barking as if saying ‘speak for yourself’.

Captain India AKA ‘mad’

I’m not quite sure what the guitar is for (to serenade the dogs?) but I instantly like this chap. He has a ready supply of the unbridled enthusiasm that I feel is in much need out here. And that I don’t always have.

‘Will you come out with me to rescue some dogs?’ I asked, wondering if I should bring a tamborine. We could play Beatles songs for difficult to catch dogs.

‘Sure, man,’ he says. ‘I’ve been in the army.’

‘It can be a mission then’

‘To save he world?’

‘Well…to find a stray dog with bad skin’

‘We are all animals!!!!!’

[more barking]

So…today is a good day. One penthouse for a cat and I have a new friend and parnter. Tomorrow we shall go out at 0800 hours for mission one, stage one, explore and capture, dog down, rescue complete, love love me do…

Love what you’re doing, Martin. My “saves” this week have mostly involved insects and a dog that turned out to have an owner who was real mad at me because I had put a leash on her dog. She had been in the post office while her dog ran around in the parking lot. I don’t have much faith in humanity. Except some humans like you.
Barbara

Terry Wright, on December 16th, 2012

“Bent Foot Benny” Brilliant just Brilliant!

martinusborne, on December 17th, 2012

Hi Barbara, thanks for reading the blog. Yeh, i’ve done that too, rescued a dog in a park that had an owner. But best to be sure. Have a lovely xmas!!

avis lyons, on December 21st, 2012

I laughed and laughed when i read this,its great.
wish i could have spent more time with you when i was with you at ARK